LAS VEGAS -- In the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament, the BYU men’s basketball team defeated the TCU Horned Frogs, 64-58, on Thursday afternoon.

"I was really pleased with how we competed," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "I thought our team, in crucial situations, got big rebounds. We made big shots. We made big free throws. We were able to win that first round game, which is very difficult to play a team for the third time."

Strong shooting by Fredette and Abouo led the Cougars to take an early 13-8 lead and force the TCU coaching staff to call an early timeout. Fredette and Abouo scored eight and five points, respectively, while also shooting 100 percent from the field in the early going. Team play was the secret to BYU’s success as the Cougars opened the game assisting on seven of its first nine field goals with Jackson Emery leading the way with three.

The Horned Frogs battled back to tie the score at 20 and eventually took the 24-22 lead as the two teams would exchange baskets and try to pull away throughout much of the first half. Abouo continued to be the driving force for BYU as he remained perfect from the field, scoring five more points on his way to 10 first-half points.

A Fredette trey ended a 6-0 TCU run and brought the Cougars within one as the buzzer rang for halftime.

BYU opened the second half on a 7-0 run. A Hartsock free throw and another Abouo basket helped the Cougars regain the lead, 36-34. A three-on-two break by BYU led to an Emery layup and extended the Cougar lead to four, followed by a lay-in by Kyle Collinsworth off a Fredette dish.

Once again the Horned Frogs showed their persistence, clawing back to knot the game at 40. Junior forward Noah Hartsock scored five straight BYU points, including an and-one play, to give the Cougars a 48-44 lead with under 10 minutes left in regulation.

BYU continued its efforts to pull away when a Fredette triple gave the Cougars an eight-point lead, the largest margin of the day up to that point, with just 1:35 remaining. Two free throws by Hartsock with less than a minute to go extended the Cougar lead to nine points.

"We're definitely looking forward to tomorrow," Fredette said. This game's done with now. We got the win. We keep moving forward. I'm just proud of my teammates, how we battled and found a way to win."

Greg Hill took over for TCU, single-handedly scoring seven points in the last 43 seconds of regulation to cut the BYU lead to two with just 25 seconds on the clock. However, the Horned Frogs ran out of time. An Emery block followed by two Emery free throws sealed the win for the Cougars.

BYU will face New Mexico in the semifinals of the Conoco MWC Championship on Friday at 6 p.m. PT in Las Vegas.